Daejeon: A pair of slumping postseason contenders will square off in a critical midweek series in South Korean baseball, each hoping to right the ship with fewer than 40 games left in the regular season.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Hanwha Eagles, in second place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at 61-42-3 (wins-losses-ties), will host the third-ranked Lotte Giants (58-48-3) for a three-game series starting Tuesday at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul. The Eagles have the league’s worst winning percentage in August at 2-5-0. They narrowly avoided a three-game sweep by the first-place LG Twins (65-42-2) over the weekend, winning the finale 5-4 on Sunday after dropping the first two games. The Eagles now trail the Twins by two games.
The Eagles’ bullpen, previously their strength, has faltered in August, pitching to a 6.84 ERA in seven games this month and allowing a .951 on-base plus slugging (OPS) against opponents. Both are the worst marks in the KBO in August. Their All-Star closer Kim Seo-hyeon is experiencing his worst stretch of the season, having surrendered eight earned runs in his past 2 2/3 innings across four appearances. In Sunday’s game, Kim took the mound with a 5-2 lead but allowed two runs on three hits before securing his 25th save of the year.
In contrast, the Eagles’ starting rotation has been consistently excellent. Cody Ponce will seek to make history in his next start on Tuesday. Ponce has won his first 14 straight decisions this season, tying the KBO record set by Chong Min-tae of the Hyundai Unicorns in 2003 and matched by Hector Noesi of the Kia Tigers in 2017. A win in his next start will push Ponce’s record to 15-0.
The Giants have struggled offensively, dropping three straight games and scoring just once over their past 21 innings. With a team batting average of .204 this month, the Giants are the only team without a home run in August and have had just one extra-base hit in 137 at-bats. The Giants’ OPS stands at .490, while the NC Dinos have a slugging percentage of .577.
Despite leading the KBO in team batting average and hits for the season, the Giants’ middling pitching staff often requires them to outscore their problems on the mound. They are now 4 1/2 games behind the Eagles but four games ahead of the fifth-place KT Wiz (54-52-4). Sandwiched between the Giants and the Wiz are the SSG Landers (53-49-4), who have the second-best winning percentage in August at 5-3-0.
The Landers will have a six-game home stand in Incheon this week, facing the last-place Kiwoom Heroes (33-73-4) and then the Twins. Before visiting the Landers, the Twins will play three road games against the Wiz in Suwon. The Twins are the only club with a winning record against every opponent this season, holding a 6-4-0 edge over the Wiz.
The Dinos (48-49-6) are trying to stay in the race, just 1 1/2 games out of fifth place. They will visit the ninth-place Doosan Bears (45-58-5) before hosting the Eagles in Changwon to close out the week.